The University of New Mexico Postbaccalaureate Research and Education Program (UNM PREP) is a biomedical research training program, focused upon Minorities and socio- economically under-represented individuals who plan to enter a PhD program. Through a series of defined objectives, we shall: recruit high-quality under-represented Scholars to our program; develop and realize individualized training plans to provide laboratory research experience and academic training to improve the skill set of the Scholar; provide additional training modules to develop the professional skills of the Scholar; provide support and training in the successful application of the Scholars to PhD programs; investigate the parameters impacting graduate school retention; and utilize these data to improve graduate training at UNM. We anticipate that the results of this training will be to increase the numbers of under-represented individuals in the sciences, and to increase research focus and awareness upon reducing health disparities.